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Netherland

December 15, 2009
Book of the Day: Netherland, by Joseph O'Neill
Grade: B+
First published: 2008
1-word review: Terror
8-word review: Cricket eases the pain, some of the time.

Things get a little weird in New York after 9/11. People are afraid. Many foreign nationals move back home. The Chelsea Hotel houses some peculiar residents. A multicultural hodgepodge meet in parks around the city to play cricket. And one naif holds on to an ideal image of the American dream. In this bizarre world, a Dutch native named Hans struggles to find meaning. It's an unusual and surprising read.

Here's what the game of cricket looks like.


See, the guy throwing the ball is the bowler. The guy holding the bat is the batsman. The guy in the back is, I'm almost positive, part of the grounds crew. The goal of the batsman is to hit the ball, or not, I'm not really sure. I think they score points somehow, possibly, and somehow they decide when the game ends. The rumor is there is something called a "sticky wicket," but this might just be an urban legend. Anyway, this typical cricket scoreboard should clear things up.


Um, as far as I can tell, England is playing New Zealand. So there you have it.

I hear Idaho has some lovely cricket fields.

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